Episode 356: War on the Climate: Conflict, Carbon, and the Hidden Cost of War in Iran with Benjamin Neimark and Frederick Otu-Larbi

ByElla Burden

This episode hosts Benjamin Neimark and Frederick Otu-Larbi to examine the environmental and climate consequences of modern warfare, with a particular focus on the ongoing conflict involving Iran and its rapidly escalating global impact. The conversation explores how conflict is generating emissions at unprecedented speed and scale, with millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide released…

Intense fireball explosions with thick smoke in an outdoor setting.

The Iran War’s Hidden Front: Carbon, Fire and the Cost of Modern Warfare

ByElla Burden

When missiles strike refineries and cities burn, the damage is measured in casualties and territory. Far less visible is another front line: the atmosphere. In the first 14 days of the conflict involving Iran, an estimated 5 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions were released, roughly comparable to the annual footprint of a small state, and…

Frederick Otu-Larbi

Frederick Otu-Larbi

ByElla Burden

Frederick Otu-Larbi is a climate and environmental scientist whose work focuses on climate change, natural resource governance, and environmental management, particularly in West Africa. With over a decade of experience, he has delivered practical, climate-focused solutions for governments, businesses, and communities. He is currently based at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Ghana,…

Ola Rifai

Ola Rifai

ByElla Burden

Ola Rifai is Deputy Director of the Centre for Syrian Studies (CSS) at the University of St Andrews, where her research focuses on the international politics of the Middle East. Her work examines identity politics, nationalism, sectarianism, and ethnic conflict, with particular attention to Syria and the broader contemporary region. Her scholarship engages with the…

A large crowd gathers in a city square waving Syrian flags during a protest.

Syria’s Shifting Identity and Political Landscape

ByElla Burden

Syria is often examined primarily through the angle of geopolitics, armed conflict, and regional power competition. Yet one of the most consequential, and comparatively underexplored, dimensions of the Syrian crisis concern identity: how Syrian identity was historically constructed, how it fragmented under the pressures of war, and whether it can be meaningfully reconstituted in a…

Episode 324: Syria’s Shifting Identity and Political Landscape with Ola Rifai

ByElla Burden

In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Ola Rifai about the evolution of Syrian identity and how competing narratives of nationalism, sectarianism, and statehood have shaped Syria’s political trajectory and risk before and after 2011. Find out more about how identity was managed under the Assad regime, how sectarianisation unfolded…

Nadwa Al-Dawsari

Nadwa Al-Dawsari

ByElisa Garbil

Nadwa Al-Dawsari is a veteran researcher, conflict analyst, and policy advisor with 20 years of field experience in Yemen and the broader Middle East. Currently, she serves as an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI) and a fellow at the Center on Armed Groups. She has provided advisory services to policymakers, US and…

Yemen Flag

From Insurgency to Influence: The Houthis’ Red Sea Expansion

ByElisa Garbil

Written by Elisa Garbil – 28.08.2025 The transformation of Yemen’s Houthi movement from a marginal insurgency to a disruptive regional force marks one of the most significant non-state evolutions in contemporary Middle Eastern politics. Their growing military capabilities, ideological expansion, and strategic autonomy have positioned the Houthis as not just a local Yemeni problem but a geopolitical…

Episode 261: The Houthis as The New ‘Axis of Resistance’ with Nadwa Al-Dawsari

ByElisa Garbil

Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Dive into the intricacies of the Houthis with Nadwa Al-Dawsari! Nadwa and Dominic discuss the background of the Houthis, where they come from, what their ideology is, what influence they have, economical and geopolitical implications both for Yemen and the world, how they currently govern Norther Yemen, what the international response…

Nuclear Warning Sign

Iran’s Nuclear Program: Security, Stability, and Global Implications

ByElisa Garbil

Written by Elisa Garbil – 01.09.2025 Iran’s nuclear program has long been a topic of global debate, intertwined with issues of national security, regional power dynamics, and international diplomacy. As Iran edges closer to advancing its nuclear capabilities, the risks associated with this trajectory extend beyond the borders of the Islamic Republic itself. A careful examination of…